Whilst the school has a ‘selective program’ it is relatively limited and is still being developed. Meanwhile, the school's population is made up of mainly Indigenous students and students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
Originally the school tried to teach Aboriginal languages alongside Japanese but there was outrage from a group of parents who refused to have their student learn an Aboriginal language that was not their families own.
The majority of students do not see Japanese as a subject should be interested in, this is evident in the older years where Japanese is an elective. Year 9, 10 and 11 have been combined to make an adequate class. This would naturally cause a number of problems, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend one of these classes to see how the content was differentiated for the students.
The lesson outcomes and cross-curriculum
In this lesson students were learning how to read a clock, ask from the time using, “いまはなんじですか” and how to reply in Japanese. Since students were learning how to accurately read a clock, basic numeracy was being addressed in addition to the language skills. This was greatly beneficial as there were a few students who struggled with reading an analogue clock. The main syllabus outcomes were from UL 2 : Reading/Responding and UL3: Speaking.
Students learnt about: the importance of prior knowledge in the interpretation of texts (revision of the numbers needed to respond to the questions accurately) ways to analyse text structures and relevant information in the text (how to read a clock to gain the information required to respond) the use of information and communication technologies for communicative purposes (the use of assistive technology such as the clocks themselves, the IWB and gaining information to respond accurately)
The class who participated in this lesson was 7L. 7L is a low literacy class with several Indigenous students. The class has 18 students and is made up of mostly boys. A few of the student are enthusiastic learners whilst others are often disengaged.
Key components of the lesson
The revision process: Numbers Students began the lesson by revising the numbers 1 - 12. This revision was done through the use of the IWB where the teacher drew a clock face and had students draw in the air and repeat the pronunciation of the number she needed to write on the correct location. Students either volunteered answers or were called upon. When a number was written onto the clock face, the teacher would repeat the pronunciation and the students were expected to repeat after her. The teacher then circled a number on the clock face and asked students how many minutes that number represented. That number nominated was then used for students to practice the larger numbers that would be needed later in the lesson. Several numbers were selected and students either volunteered or were selected to give answers.
Introduction of いまはなんじですか The strategies used to introduce the phrase, いまはなんじですか, were very standard. The teacher wrote the sentence on the IWB next to the clock face and had the students repeat the pronunciation of the sentence after her. Student understanding was not checked at this stage unfortunately. The replies, “いまはＸＸじです。” いまはＸＸじはんです。“ and いまはＸＸじＸＸふんです。” were written under the original question in different colours and the teacher explained the difference between each of the responses. Student were informed that they would be only using ふんafter the minutes to keep it simple. Whilst, not strictly correct, this was beneficial to the group of students who at this stage were visibly feeling a little overwhelmed. To practice these responses, the teacher asked the question, いまはなんじですか, drew hands on the clock and assisted the students in replying using the various replies. After the teacher felt sufficient time had been spent practicing as a group she invited students to come draw their own hands on the clock and ask the question to the group. Several students were asked to give individual replies, but once again, I felt that the teacher had not done enough to ensure that student understanding was being achieved.
Board game The board game section of the lesson comes from the JapTeach website. It is simple in design but served the purpose of this learning activity perfectly. The students really engaged with the bright colours and the notion that learning Japanese could be fun. This learning activity allowed students to revise telling the time, their numbers and the key phrases that were being taught. Furthermore the board has several Japanese phrases (Ikkai Kyuukei etc) that students with with an interest in Japanese would find fascinating, the same applies for the hiragana. This activity also provided the teacher with ample time to converse with students and check their understanding of the topic. It was during this time that the teacher corrected some students on their punctuation, assisted them with their telling of the time and checked student understanding.
Positives: The teacher knew her subject area and was enthusiastic about teaching the content. This enthusiasm was often infections and the students become more engaged when spoken to by the teacher. The lesson was designed with the NSW syllabus in mind. Basic numeracy was also addressed. The lesson was designed with the abilities of the students in mind, changes were made when the teacher noticed students were feeling overwhelmed. All activities were conducted in a fun atmosphere with a focus on correctly identifying the numbers and the time. The students were given basic instructions in Japanese. Good for aural, visual and kinaesthetic learners. Time spent on each learning activity was appropriate. Student were not getting bored nor where they feeling rushed. Revision at the beginning of the lesson meant that students felt more confident about their ability to respond to the teacher’s questions. Students were given opportunities to show their understanding, to be the teacher or to ‘give it a go’. Group work meant that students were not put on the spot, thus they were less likely to act out in response to embarrassment/frustration. The teacher was able to assist students and gauge their understanding by observing their participation and responses.
Negatives: Student understanding was not checked continually. Students were not always fully understanding the phrases being learned and as a result had to catch up during the game playing time when either the teacher or myself provided them with assistance. Some students were disengaged. This may have been due to the above reason or to general lack of interest. There was little emphasis on pronunciation. Many students were pronouncing, です, なん and ふんincorrectly without too much intervention. No connection made with real life applications, the community nor Aboriginal perspectives.
Background to Peel High School, Tamworth
The lesson outcomes and cross-curriculum
In this lesson students were learning how to read a clock, ask from the time using, “いまはなんじですか” and how to reply in Japanese. Since students were learning how to accurately read a clock, basic numeracy was being addressed in addition to the language skills. This was greatly beneficial as there were a few students who struggled with reading an analogue clock. The main syllabus outcomes were from UL 2 : Reading/Responding and UL3: Speaking.Students learnt about:
the importance of prior knowledge in the interpretation of texts (revision of the numbers needed to respond to the questions accurately)
ways to analyse text structures and relevant information in the text (how to read a clock to gain the information required to respond)
the use of information and communication technologies for communicative purposes (the use of assistive technology such as the clocks themselves, the IWB and gaining information to respond accurately)
Board of Studies Syllabus
The class
The class who participated in this lesson was 7L. 7L is a low literacy class with several Indigenous students. The class has 18 students and is made up of mostly boys. A few of the student are enthusiastic learners whilst others are often disengaged.Key components of the lesson
The revision process: NumbersStudents began the lesson by revising the numbers 1 - 12. This revision was done through the use of the IWB where the teacher drew a clock face and had students draw in the air and repeat the pronunciation of the number she needed to write on the correct location. Students either volunteered answers or were called upon. When a number was written onto the clock face, the teacher would repeat the pronunciation and the students were expected to repeat after her. The teacher then circled a number on the clock face and asked students how many minutes that number represented. That number nominated was then used for students to practice the larger numbers that would be needed later in the lesson. Several numbers were selected and students either volunteered or were selected to give answers.
Introduction of いまはなんじですか
The strategies used to introduce the phrase, いまはなんじですか, were very standard. The teacher wrote the sentence on the IWB next to the clock face and had the students repeat the pronunciation of the sentence after her. Student understanding was not checked at this stage unfortunately. The replies, “いまはＸＸじです。” いまはＸＸじはんです。“ and いまはＸＸじＸＸふんです。” were written under the original question in different colours and the teacher explained the difference between each of the responses. Student were informed that they would be only using ふんafter the minutes to keep it simple. Whilst, not strictly correct, this was beneficial to the group of students who at this stage were visibly feeling a little overwhelmed. To practice these responses, the teacher asked the question, いまはなんじですか, drew hands on the clock and assisted the students in replying using the various replies. After the teacher felt sufficient time had been spent practicing as a group she invited students to come draw their own hands on the clock and ask the question to the group. Several students were asked to give individual replies, but once again, I felt that the teacher had not done enough to ensure that student understanding was being achieved.
Board game
The board game section of the lesson comes from the JapTeach website. It is simple in design but served the purpose of this learning activity perfectly. The students really engaged with the bright colours and the notion that learning Japanese could be fun. This learning activity allowed students to revise telling the time, their numbers and the key phrases that were being taught. Furthermore the board has several Japanese phrases (Ikkai Kyuukei etc) that students with with an interest in Japanese would find fascinating, the same applies for the hiragana. This activity also provided the teacher with ample time to converse with students and check their understanding of the topic. It was during this time that the teacher corrected some students on their punctuation, assisted them with their telling of the time and checked student understanding.
JapTeach - Time board game (Romaji Version)
Evaluation of the lesson
Positives: The teacher knew her subject area and was enthusiastic about teaching the content. This enthusiasm was often infections and the students become more engaged when spoken to by the teacher.
The lesson was designed with the NSW syllabus in mind. Basic numeracy was also addressed.
The lesson was designed with the abilities of the students in mind, changes were made when the teacher noticed students were feeling overwhelmed.
All activities were conducted in a fun atmosphere with a focus on correctly identifying the numbers and the time.
The students were given basic instructions in Japanese.
Good for aural, visual and kinaesthetic learners.
Time spent on each learning activity was appropriate. Student were not getting bored nor where they feeling rushed.
Revision at the beginning of the lesson meant that students felt more confident about their ability to respond to the teacher’s questions.
Students were given opportunities to show their understanding, to be the teacher or to ‘give it a go’.
Group work meant that students were not put on the spot, thus they were less likely to act out in response to embarrassment/frustration.
The teacher was able to assist students and gauge their understanding by observing their participation and responses.
Negatives:
Student understanding was not checked continually. Students were not always fully understanding the phrases being learned and as a result had to catch up during the game playing time when either the teacher or myself provided them with assistance.
Some students were disengaged. This may have been due to the above reason or to general lack of interest.
There was little emphasis on pronunciation. Many students were pronouncing, です, なん and ふんincorrectly without too much intervention.
No connection made with real life applications, the community nor Aboriginal perspectives.